How To Choose The Right Mattress For An Adult And A Child: Spring, Springless, Hard Or Soft

2024 Author: Bailey Albertson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 12:53

How to choose the right mattress: basic quality criteria

A lot depends on a properly selected mattress: the quality of night rest, well-being, mood. Sometimes a mattress should help solve health problems, sometimes just provide a comfortable sleep. But in any case, his choice requires some knowledge and does not tolerate haste.

Content

• 1 Types of mattresses, their pros and cons

  • 1.1 Spring and springless

    • 1.1.1 Dependent type blocks
    • 1.1.2 Blocks of independent type
    • 1.1.3 Springless
  • 1.2 Hard and soft
  • 1.3 By material
  • 1.4 By size
  • 1.5 For additional functions
• 2 How to choose the right mattress

Types of mattresses, their pros and cons

According to the mattress manufacturers, every model in their catalogs represents pure perfection for the coziest sleep in the world. In fact, of course, everything is much more prosaic, and every type of mattress has both its advantages and disadvantages.

Spring-loaded and springless

As you might guess from the name, either spring blocks or filler will take on the weight of your body in these models.

Dependent type blocks

Each of the steel curls in such a mattress is connected with other springs into a single system. This gives the product strength, allows it to withstand increased stress, but does not provide truly high-quality support for the spine.

Springs in a dependent type block are a single system

Dependent mattresses are moderately priced, but they creak, have a short lifespan and are difficult to move from place to place. Not the best solution for double beds, especially if you and your soul mate are in different weight categories: it is necessary to press properly on one edge of the mattress, as this movement will respond to the same on the other.

Blocks of independent type

Each spring has its own separate case, so the elastic spiral reacts only to the pressure exerted specifically on it. Thanks to this, the body of the sleeping person is located in the most natural position, and not in the one that is dictated to him by the bending mattress. Independent models are more durable and healthier, but heavy, inconvenient to transport and have poor ventilation.

Each spring in a block of an independent type has its own "personal space"

There are models with double springs, where smaller coils are inserted into larger ones, which increases the resistance of the mattress: first the large springs take the load, and then the small ones are connected.

Springless

In fact, these are the descendants of the old "grandfather's" mattresses, in which down and feathers are replaced by more modern fillers. If this filler is represented by one type of material, you have a monolithic mattress, but if the contents are completed from different types of stuffing - a composite one.

Springless mattresses can be monolithic and composite

Springless mattresses are thinner than their spring counterparts, do not squeak at night, they are more convenient to transport, but the main indicator of their quality is the materials used in the padding.

Hard and soft

The choice of the degree of rigidity is carried out based on the person's age, weight, medical parameters and individual preferences.

In springless mattresses, the hardness depends on the filler:

• cheap foam rubber and expensive latex, which repeats the shape of the sleeping person's body, are used in the production of soft mattresses recommended for people without serious health problems and excess weight;
• horsehair and coconut coir have high rigidity and are used in the production of mattresses for children, adolescents and people with significant excess weight;

• if fillers of one type are combined with others, creating a kind of puff cake, mattresses of medium hardness are obtained.

  

  An overly hard mattress is harmful to the back as well as an overly soft mattress.

The rigidity of spring mattresses is determined by the number of steel spirals per 1 m ^{2 of} area (from 600 to 2,000) and the thickness of the wire forming them. In addition, the manufacturer can increase the rigidity of the product by placing a layer of coconut filler and a dense jacquard backing over the springs.

By material

Since we are talking about fillers, we will dwell on this issue in more detail, especially since very interesting materials have replaced the ancient foam rubber and cotton wool today:

• polyurethane foam - a relative of foam rubber, foamed, improved, belonging to an affordable price category, but much inferior to latex in terms of service life and degree of elasticity;
• struttofiber - "intelligent" synthetic filler that takes the shape of the body;
• natural latex from the juice of a tropical givea - reliable, elastic, but soft, it is almost ideal as a filler, although it can cause allergies;
• sheep and camel wool or felt - they are used only in combination with other materials, they contribute to insulation, are soft, have good wear resistance, but are allergens;
• horse hair - tough, reliable, elastic, durable and expensive;
• coconut fiber - has similar characteristics to horse hair;

• algae, buckwheat husks, agave or banana leaves are environmentally friendly fillers of medium hardness.

  

  Everyone makes the choice of filler independently: at low cost, environmental friendliness, wear resistance

To size

Depending on the purpose, the mattress can be:

• for children (60–80 - in width and 120–180 cm in length);
• single (about 80–100 cm wide and 190–200 cm long);
• one and a half (120 cm wide and 190-200 long);
• double (140-200 cm long and 190-200 wide).

The height of the mattress depends on the number of layers and the presence of springs. The simplest options (filler + cover) do not exceed 15 cm in height, models with springs reach 18-24 cm.

For additional functions

To make their product as attractive as possible to consumers, manufacturers tirelessly endow mattresses with additional useful properties. These include:

• double-sided covers made of wool and cotton for a comfortable feeling in the winter cold and summer heat;
• impregnation with special antistatic or anti-allergenic agents;
• a filler saturated with silver ions and thus endowed with antimicrobial properties;
• vacuum packaging to protect the mattress during transportation;

• handles for easy portability.

  

  Smart material will take the shape of your body and remember it

Memory mattress covers with memory effect are very interesting. The material from which they are made softens under the influence of the heat of the human body, taking a shape that is comfortable for a sleeping person, and then regains its previous density at room temperature.

How to choose the right mattress

The choice of a mattress is a complex, responsible business and largely depends on a person's personal preferences. But you should definitely:

• check if the seller has a quality certificate;
• calculate the dimensions of the mattress by the size of the bed or the formula "height + 15 cm";
• evaluate the quality of stitches, sewn-in zippers and other details;

• take into account the weight and age of the future owner of the mattress. Children are recommended to use hard fillers or independent blocks, adults without excess weight are allowed soft models, people with obesity - products of medium and high hardness.

  

  You can calculate the hardness of the mattress yourself

A moisture-proof mattress with anti-allergenic or antistatic impregnation will definitely be a good purchase. And if you have problems with the heart, spine or joints, it will not be superfluous to consult with your doctor before buying.

According to statistics, we spend a third of our lives in bed - a good reason to pay special attention to buying a mattress. Think carefully about what you want to get before heading to the store, do not hesitate to ask the seller all your questions and even ask to lie down on the sample to try it out. Also, don't skimp on quality. Health is still useful to you.